“The European Union is world champion at setting ambitious targets, but it regularly fails when it comes to delivering them in the real world. While the switch to alternative fuels in aviation is at least making gradual progress, the situation in shipping remains completely unresolved. It is simply unrealistic to try to convert highly specialised marine engines to run on blends of vegetable oils. A few flagship pilot projects by large corporations may look impressive, but they are no basis for a viable model for an entire industry. At the same time, the Commission is calling for investments running into the hundreds of billions – but which investor is going to commit long term when Brussels constantly shifts its priorities and offers no planning certainty?
If the European Parliament is now itself debating rowing back from the combustion-engine phase-out, it sends a disastrous signal to industry and investors: nobody can rely on political requirements remaining in place for more than a few months. As long as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) does not follow suit and major military equipment quite rightly continues to run on diesel and heavy fuel oil, the EU investment plan STIP will remain little more than wishful thinking. Anyone who genuinely wants to support the sector must finally face reality and create clear, reliable framework conditions instead of chasing green pipe dreams.”
